


it takes two

by lostin_space



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alex Manes Deserves Nice Things, Bonding, Fluff, Gen, Minor Forrest Long/Alex Manes, mentions of noah bracken
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:02:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26409169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostin_space/pseuds/lostin_space
Summary: Isobel thinks Alex needs a day off and she's going to make it happen.
Relationships: Isabel Evans & Alex Manes
Comments: 15
Kudos: 59





	it takes two

**Author's Note:**

> for @bamfalexmanes on tumblr! I'm not sure if you have an ao3, but let me know if you do!

Alex woke up at 5 o’clock sharp.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” 

Alex jumped at the voice and was about two seconds away from setting off his taser before he realized who had spoken. Isobel, for some reason, was standing at the foot of his bed with her arms crossed over her chest. He dropped the taser and took a deep breath, unable to stop staring at her like she’d lost her damn mind.

“Why are you here? No, _how_ are you here? I have a fuck ton of security,” Alex said. Isobel gave that award-winning smile and came closer to sit on the edge of his bed.

“And I have a very talented brain,” she said, batting her eyelashes. Alex rolled his eyes. “I’ve decided you needed a day off. You’ve been stressed out and it’s stressing me out, so I called in sick for you and broke in to turn your alarm off and you woke up without it.”

“The alarm is just in case,” Alex said, still glaring at her. She rolled her eyes and shoved his shoulders in a failed attempt at making him lay back down. “You can’t just call into my work or _decide_ I need a day off. I have shit to do.”

“Not anymore,” she insisted, “I called in and your superior completely understood and said to rest and I got Michael and Kyle to take on all your alien-investigation duties, so you’re free. _And_ I’ve got your nice little woodland boyfriend to agree to a chill Alex day. No stress today, it’s forbidden.”

“I don’t actually trust them to do my work, so now I’m going to just stress more because I know they’ll fuck it up,” Alex shot back.

“Nope,” she said, patting his head, “Michael is pretty meticulous about doing things _just_ the way you like it. It’s gross.” Alex kept his glare. “Seriously, go back to sleep.”

“I can’t sleep once I wake up.”

“Well, then stay in bed. I’ll cook you breakfast in bed or something.”

“Isobel--”

“Hush,” she said, pressing her finger to his lips and ignoring the annoyed look on his face, “You’ve done a lot for us, let us do something for you for once, okay?”

Reluctantly, Alex agreed and slowly laid back in bed.

“Isobel, if you’re making eggs, make sure you use the--”

“Nope! Not controlling anything today! La-la-la, can’t hear you being controlling!” she yelled, covering her ears as she left the room. Alex rolled his eyes and tried to relax.

Relaxing definitely didn’t come easy to him, it never had. He’d clung onto the little bit of control he had and, if he lost that, it stressed him out. He remembered always taking over in school projects and taking over making dinner when he was younger, always convinced that if he didn’t do it himself it wouldn’t get done right. As an adult, he clung to that control all the same. But Isobel had apparently done a lot to make him have a stress-less day, so he was going to enjoy it. Or try.

He made it five minutes before he grabbed his phone.

Isobel had put it on Do Not Disturb which he had to maintain a massive amount of willpower to not turn off. Instead, he went ahead and called Forrest himself. Then he would abide by Isobel’s relaxation rules.

“Excuse me, did I misread something? I thought it was let Alex relax day,” Forrest asked, amusement in his voice. Alex smiled and tried to focus on his light existence to help him relax.

“It is, but I’m convinced Isobel is deliberately using the wrong pan,” Alex admitted. Forrest snorted and Alex could hear the sounds of horses in the background. It was nice having a boyfriend on a ranch--he was always up as early as Alex. 

“How dare she use the omelet pan for scrambled eggs?” Forrest teased. 

“You say it like it’s funny,” Alex said. Forrest laughed easily.

“It _is_ funny. Just relax, babe. Isobel has been planning this for, like, two weeks. She even made you guys a reservation at a spa. Which I’m only telling you because I know you don’t like surprises, but act surprised whenever y’all show up,” he informed. Alex took a deep breath.

“Thank you,” he said. Forrest hummed in response.

“And if you want me to come over and help you relax a little more tonight, I can. Shine the bat signal and I’ll be over in the blink of an eye,” Forrest said.

“I might take you up on that. Haven’t decided how effective Isobel’s relaxation techniques are going to work on me,” Alex admitted, letting the line fall silent. Eventually, though, he sighed and sat up. “Okay, I’m gonna try to enjoy it. Keep your afternoon free.”

“Every moment of every day is free if you’re the one asking.”

“Dork.”

“Always.”

Alex ended the call and put his phone in his dresser drawer. He was going to try. If Isobel went through all this trouble, it was the least he could do. 

He stretched and grabbed the remote from the foot of the bed, turning on the TV and going to Netflix. He decided on New Girl (only because Forrest had already started watching it on his account) and tried to just _relax_.

And it was still hard.

“Aw, look at you, still laying in bed after twenty minutes,” Isobel teased, coming in with two plates of food. He tried not to be concerned when she sat beside him in bed. He usually didn’t eat in bed and he had a lot of memories of his father being angry at him for having food in his bedroom. But he was a grown ass man and he could wash the sheets.

“I’ve laid in bed longer than twenty minutes after I woke up before,” Alex said.

“I mean when you don’t have someone in bed being all distracting,” Isobel said. Alex didn’t correct her. “Thought so.”

For an episode of the show that Alex found funny enough, they sat and ate. Alex thanked her for cooking and tried not to think about if she used the wrong pan or the wrong spatula or the wrong plate. He allowed the plates to be put on the nightstand to take out of the room later and they both laid down and let it go to the next episode.

He felt himself start to relax a little more. Every time his mind tried to remind him of something he needed to do, he shut it down and reassured himself that Michael and Kyle were taking care of it. And if he snuck away later to call Michael to double check, Isobel didn’t need to know.

There was a point where Isobel started telling random stories about whatever she could think of. It was such a distinct thing that he chose not to say anything about. She was trying to open up. She was trying to be a friend. He was going to let her and reciprocate because that didn’t sound bad.

“Wait, wait, back up, you did _what?”_ Alex laughed. Isobel grinned.

“Technically it was more Max and Michael’s doing, but they broke into the football team’s locker room and stole all of their socks after they laughed at me for something I don’t even remember. I think I was blacked out at the time, but they still just wanted to defend me,” Isobel said. Alex laughed and shook his head.

“But why their socks?”

“Small, but extremely annoying,” Isobel pointed out, “They threw them in the desert.”

“Jesus,” Alex laughed, “My brothers would never.”

“Well, you’re in luck because you’ve got people that would do it for you now,” she said, giving him that same wild smile. Alex huffed and nodded.

“Good, I’ll let you know if there’s any socks that need to be stolen.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.”

They laid there for awhile, until the birds had stopped chirping for the morning and the clock read 8:30. Then she suggested he get ready because she had some plans for the day. Already knowing what those were, he agreed.

He let himself take his time, actually taking his time on washing his face and fixing his hair. He wanted to look nice if he was supposed to be feeling nice. He got his prosthetic on and chose something nice but comfortable and decided it was good enough. When he came out of the bathroom, Isobel whistled her appreciation.

“Damn, I knew you had it in you to look good,” Isobel said.

“Here I was thinking I always looked good.”

“Eh, well, your fatigues make you look boxy and when you slick your hair back, you look like you’re trying to blend in too much. I like the messy look with the whole tank-top-open-button-up combo you got going on,” Isobel said, gesturing to him. Alex laughed and rolled his eyes.

“Well, thanks, I guess,” Alex snorted. He looked over to the nightstand to see that she’d already taken them to the kitchen. He just hoped she washed them. “So, what exactly are the plans for today?”

“I’ve got a few things in mind,” Isobel said, that sly little smile on her face. He huffed a laugh and mentally thanked Forrest again for spoiling it for him.

Within a few hours, Alex found himself laid out on a massage table a few feet away from Isobel. She didn’t say anything about it, but he had decided she had a left over couple’s spa trip that she forgot about making reservations for and decided to bring Alex along instead.

He was honestly thankful he didn’t have to be by himself. As awkward as it was to be basically naked a few feet away from your ex’s sister, it was a lot less awkward than it would’ve been if he found himself alone with a stranger that he couldn’t see properly. He needed to be aware of his surroundings to relax and it definitely helped that there were other people in the same room.

So he tried his best. He wasn’t a big fan of massages, having really conflicted feelings about being touched by strangers in general, but he tried. He imagined it was someone he knew, someone he trusted to touch him without making it uncomfortable. Basically anyone he’d hooked up with except for that cadet he hooked up with a few years into the Air Force who kept asking questions about why he had so many scars.

After the massage, they were taken to go get facials which Alex made about half-way through before he had to stop. Too much keeping his eyes closed and that was something he couldn’t do, but he thanked the woman anyway and made small talk while Isobel did the whole thing. It was actually pretty relaxing in a completely different way.

“This one is gonna be your favorite, I just know it,” Isobel insisted once the facials were over and they were headed to the next room. Alex was smiling easily for what felt like the first time in awhile. No forced smiles or no smiles that only lasted a few seconds. Isobel seemed to notice and she held her head up with pride.

They got manicures and pedicures next which had easily proved Isobel right. Part of Alex felt downright _giddy_ about it. The last time he’d gotten a manicure and pedicure was on Maria’s 18th birthday and he barely even got to enjoy them that long. After DADT was repealed, he’d thought about going to get one, but couldn’t bring himself to go alone. But maybe he and Isobel needed to make this a regular thing.

“See, I told you you’d like it,” Isobel said.

“Thank you, Isobel, seriously,” Alex said. She smiled, shrugging a shoulder as if it wasn’t that big of a deal. But it was. He was actually relaxing for once. That meant a lot.

“Don’t mention it. Did I ever tell you about that time we went water skiing and Max broke his nose?”

It wasn’t until they went to a fancy restaurant that she had reservations at that he noticed she’d been talking a lot. Like, significantly more than usual. It wasn’t long that he caught on she was just trying to keep her mind off of real life too.

“Be honest,” Alex said halfway through their meal, “You needed today too.”

Isobel’s smile turned a bit sour and she took a deep breath. It was so distinctly Michael that it was almost jarring.

“Today would’ve been my 6th wedding anniversary,” she admitted. Alex tried to keep his reactions in check, but he couldn’t help the way he instantly felt bad that clearly no one else had known that.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, I just needed to do something to take my mind off it,” she insisted. Alex didn’t say anything, just stared at her. It most definitely wasn’t fine. “I just... I feel like I’m never going to stop missing this man I thought I knew.”

“Honestly? You probably won’t,” Alex said. Isobel scoffed.

“Well, thanks.”

“I mean, look, he was taken from you in a really horrible way. It’s not like he showed his true colors at all. You had, what, half a decade with a man who treated you well at all times and seemed to put your needs first and was kind. It makes sense for you to mourn him even if he wasn’t real,” Alex assured her.

“I hate it, though,” she admitted.

“If it helps, I didn’t even have that much with my dad and I’m still mourning him. It’s annoying and it’s frustrating, but it’s apart of life,” Alex assured her. She tilted her head.

“Alex, this day is supposed to be about comforting _you,”_ she said playfully. He gave her a smile.

“It can be about both of us,” he said, “I tell you what, let’s make this day into something different. It’s no longer a wedding anniversary to a shitty man who lied, it’s now Isobel and Alex’s Annual Chill Day.”

Isobel laughed, “You really want to do this with me every year?”

“If you needed me to do this with you every month, I would,” Alex promised. He saw tears build in her eyes, but she blinked them away. “You’re my friend, Isobel, and one of the only people that hasn’t fucked me over. I don’t take that lightly.”

“Okay, then. Isobel and Alex’s Annual Chill Day it is,” she said, raising her glass of wine. He raised his to hers.

“Gotta love new traditions.”

And he did. That night, Isobel stayed over and he got one of the best night’s sleep he’d had in awhile. He didn’t even need a man in his bed to get it.

It helped knowing Isobel felt the same exactly way.

**Author's Note:**

> Also on my tumblr: spaceskam


End file.
